Thread by @CMOH_Alberta

Here is a summary of today’s #COVID19AB update: We have administered 149K+ doses of vaccine and 54K+ are fully immunized w/2 doses. Over the last 24 hrs, we have ID’d 263 new cases & completed about 5.2K tests. (1/9)

Our positivity rate is about 5%, up from the past few weeks. We will watch closely to see if this is an isolated finding, or a concerning trend. There are active alerts/outbreaks in 264 schools, or about 11 % of the schools w/ 861 cases. (2/9)

Since Fri. we have ID’d 50 new variant cases. I know many are concerned. I am too, particularly about the growing # not linked to travel, though many are the result of close contacts IDd through contact tracing & from offering testing 2x to anyone who may have been exposed. (3/9)

There are 365 ppl in hospital, incl 56 in ICU. Sadly, 9 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hrs. While the # of COVID fatalities continue to trend down, these deaths are a reminder of the seriousness of the virus & the need to protect ourselves & each other from it. (4/9)

It’s been 1wk since we eased Step 1 restrictions. It can take up to 2 wks to see the impact of changes. But, it is good news hospitalizations have declined. The R rate is 0.85 & overall our trend has continued downwards. We will continue to watch these key metrics. (5/9)

We have not implemented specific capacity limits on restaurants, bars & lounges. Instead, physical distancing protocols require min. 2m spacing &max 6 household members/table. This reduces capacity, but is based on configuration of table distancing rather than occupancy. (6/9)

Unlike shoppers in a store who are always wearing masks & may briefly get close to others in certain high-traffic areas, ppl eating & drinking aren’t wearing masks & remain in a location for an extended period of time, making it critical that they are spaced from others. (7/9)

Social get-togethers are where we see highest rates of transmission. It’s been difficult to not gather w/loved one indoors, but this sacrifice has had the biggest impact on reducing spread, relieving pressure on our health care system & getting us to where we are at today. (8/9)

Our actions have the power to lead to uncontrolled spread if we aren’t vigilant or to slow transmission when we work together. We all need to stay the course & continue to make choices every day to reduce our in-person interactions, especially indoors. (9/9)